33. Dimitri #2
I hate that. I never want her to feel like she can’t talk to me.
Reaching up, I hook a finger under her chin and gently lift her head until we're eye-to-eye once again.
“Whatever it is, you can tell me. It can be about school, friends, or a dream you had last night. I don’t care. I just want to be here for you.”
Again, she searches my face as if the idea of simply having someone is so foreign to her.
Something tells me this beautiful soul has been through far too much in life, more than she deserves.
“What if it’s not just you?” She cringes as she says the words in a rush, and I know it wasn’t easy for her, but I can’t help but chuckle.
Mortals hardly ever take more than one lover, and while it wasn’t something I ever saw for myself before her, I don’t see the issue now.
Her face falls, and I mentally kick myself, knowing she mistook my laughter as rejection.
“No, I’m sorry. It’s no problem, Wren. I swear. I’m not threatened by Julian.”
“How did you know I was talking about Julian?” she asks, and while I can’t give her the actual answer to that, I can give her the next best thing.
“Let’s not pretend ?he doesn’t drop you off and pick you up from every one of my classes.
I’ve seen the way he looks at you and how he can’t seem to keep his hands off of you.
I’ve also had to shoo him off more than once in order to start class.
” I remind her, watching the way her cheeks bloom with heat with each word.
I hope that someday, when someone talks about me, she gets that look in her eyes.
“So classes are going well, I assume?” I ask, needing to change the subject to what these meetings are actually supposed to be about. I’d love to get lost in her, but I need to make sure she’s okay in every aspect, and with her asshole roommates, I’m sure it’s not all great.
“Yeah, they’re going well. I feel like I’m going to be able to graduate on time.”
I nod because I expected nothing less.
“So, is there anything you need?” I watch her eyes dilate, and if she weren't on my literal lap, I would have missed it, but with her this close, it’s impossible. Her scent shifts a moment later, and fuck, my beast goes crazy.
The need to feed has been there like a bruise, annoying but bearable; now with her this close, smelling like she does for me…
Well, I’ve never been addicted to anything, but if this is what it feels like, I can see why people fall victim. She’s all I can think about, all that I want…
No need. Want suggests it's possible to live without her, and I’m almost positive that’s no longer the case.
She’s silent long enough that I know she has something she isn’t saying.
“Tell me, Birdie.”
“Um, I just need to go to the store.” She pushes a stray lock of hair behind her ear and looks down at her lap as if embarrassed.
“Hey,” I wait until she peeks back up at me before I offer her what I hope is an encouraging smile, and she seems to relax, even if just slightly. “I’m here to help you. It’s kind of my job.”
“Is this how you help all the girls?” she asks, and I know she’s playing. I can see it written on her face, but more than that, I see the flicker of doubt.
I lean in and press my lips to hers, wrapping my arms around her to pull her tight into my chest. Her little gasp of surprise goes right to my beast and my cock, and I make myself pull away to look her in her eyes so that she can see the truth of my words.
“I’ve never felt for a student like I do for you.” Her eyes go wide, but I shake my head.
That’s not right.
“No, I’ve never felt like this for anyone, student or not.” We’re not going to count her past self.
This time, she’s the one who leans in, brushing her lips to mine, and while my beast wants to devour her, I make myself remain in control, unwilling to ruin this moment.
A growl builds in my throat, but I swallow it down. Pulling back to press my lips to her throat, her throbbing pulse and scent consume me. I feel the way my beast craves her, my fangs aching even more than my cock.
I stand with her still in my arms and chuckle when she sucks in a sharp breath. I guess I should have warned her.
“Let’s get you to the store.”
This time, when she smiles, it reaches all the way to her eyes and makes my heart skip a beat, and my monster goes completely silent since the first night I met her.
Wren feels like home; she feels like she’s mine.
Wren’s family has money, yet she shops like she’s poor, going so far as to pull out a calculator before she brings her measly cart of basic living supplies and snacks up to the counter.
It’s strange enough that I worry maybe something's wrong.
“Do you need help covering it? I don’t mind paying,” I offer.
“Oh no,” she shakes her head and starts pushing her cart toward the front of the store. “I have a little money saved up. I just need to watch how I spend it, is all. It has to last me until graduation.”
What?
In what world would it need it to last that long?
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask how much she has or maybe even why it has to last, but I don’t.
I can always ask later.
For now, I want to enjoy our time together outside of school grounds. Even if I can’t touch her, it’s nice to be out doing something that feels more normal with your girlfriend versus her feeling so much like my student.
I mean, she is, but still.
We leave the store, and instead of heading back to campus, I head away from it. I’m not sure if she trusts me or if she simply doesn’t notice what direction we’re headed, but she seems more than content to sit and watch the scenery.
It’s not until we pull off the highway that she seems to notice we’re somewhere new.
“I thought we could get something to eat while we're out.” I pull into a little diner I’ve never seen before. I figure if it’s far enough away for me, it probably is for the rest of the school, too.
Wren is quiet, and when I park, I look over, worried I might have made a wrong call, only to find her eyes wide and a smile on her lips.
“It’s so cute!” she breathes, in awe of the place, and I mean, it’s not bad. It’s a small diner with the old fifties vibe, but the way she looks at it, it's as if it came right out of her dreams.
“So you want to grab something?”
Her smile grows impossibly wider as she nods before nearly jumping out of the car, and I have to rush to keep up.
The inside is just as retro as the outside, and honestly, probably just as old, but the more excited Wren is, the more I like the place.
It’s dead. The only other person is an older man at the counter with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.
“Sit wherever ya like. I’ll be right over.
” The waitress calls from behind the counter, and I grab Wren’s hand and lead her back toward a booth.
She looks down at our connected hands for a second before she smiles up at me, and I can’t resist the urge to pull her hand up to my lips and press a kiss to her knuckles.
I’ve never wanted to be fired more in my life. The ability to be like this with Wren all the time is so damn tempting.
It takes Wren a little while to decide what she wants, torn between so many options, and in the end, I just order her a few different things to try. She’d been adamant that it wasn’t necessary, but I told her she could heat them up later.
She wasn’t happy about it, but when the waitress brought the food out, all her complaining stopped.
“Oh my gosh, everything is so good!” she gushed, shoving a fry in her mouth, followed by a chicken strip and then a bite of an onion ring.
“Whoa, slow down, or you’ll throw it all up.”
“Sorry.” Her shoulders slump, and she looks down at the table, the embarrassment clear on her face.
“Hey, none of that. You can eat what you want. Enjoy it. I just don’t want you to get sick from it. Take it slow.”
“Okay.”
We eat and talk about silly things, our favorite colors, movies, books, and little things to get to know each other better, and while this is our first ‘date,’ it feels like it’s our millionth. Everything about Wren is familiar, beautiful, and addicting.
We left with three to-go boxes after splitting a shake, and she groans about an upset stomach with a smile as she climbs into the car.
“You’ve never been to a diner, huh?” I ask as we drive back to campus.
“That obvious?” she asks, looking down at her lap.
“Yeah, but that’s okay. I’m glad I got to take you for your first time. It was fun.”
She beams at me, and my heart skips a beat, knowing I’ve made her this happy with something so simple.
“I like spending time with you,” she says, her smile taking on a shy quality as she watches me as if nervous I won’t feel the same way.
As if that’s even possible, how anyone could not feel for her is beyond me.
My brother is either out of his mind or a liar, or maybe both.
“I like spending time with you, too.”